Recorded in 1994 but released only now in the wake of the recent West End production, this set comes as something of a revelation after hearing Sweet Charity at the Victoria Palace where the number of musicians employed in the theatre resulted in reduced orchestrations. Ralph Burns’s original orchestrations – so typical of the mid-1960s when Broadway arrangers began experimenting, rather late in the day, with a wider range of instrumental colour – are worth preserving, particularly in this dance-based score.
The source material and the placing of the musical numbers in the dramatic content of the book are key attributes in TER’s recordings, and once again these benefits are a major factor in distinguishing this Sweet Charity from its predecessors. The opening sequence, following Charity’s adventure in Central Park and the key dramatic moment when she sends a telegram to Oscar in “Where am I going?”, come readily to mind. We also hear the songs cut from the film, notably “I’m the bravest individual”, Charity’s song to Oscar whilst trapped in a lift, and that marvellous duet, “Baby, dream your dream”, where Charity’s dance-hall friends mock her newly found friendship with Oscar, only to reflect, in a twist of the lyric, what they too might gain with the right guy. Shezwae Powell and Josephine Blake bring their considerable experience to this number and with Jacqueline Dankworth (a shade overemphatic in her singing), give a terrific performance of “There’s gotta be something better than this”, where conductor Martin Yates keeps an iron grip on the ensemble. There’s less precision in the mix of the “Rhythm of life” where the choral contribution and Clive Rowe’s role as Big Daddy need clearer delineation; it’s sad to report, too, that the late David Healy was clearly off form for “I love to cry at weddings”, where some unfortunate uncredited ‘mugging’ adds to the discomfort. Cy Coleman’s witty and resourceful score wears its years lightly, however, and it’s fascinating to hear the metamorphosis of the title-tune from the standard Broadway fare of 1966 to the freewheeling ‘pop’ number that undulates and extends itself like a piece of elastic in the contemporary manner of 1969.'